Real estate veteran Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, co-founder and managing director of Hiranandani Group recently invested in Goodfellows, along with Shraddha Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of YourStory. The two will now join the Pune-based start-up's advisory board.
In a statement, the company said that it will utilise this capital for business expansion in cities including Kolkata, Pune and Bengaluru.
Cornell University alumni Shantanu Naidu, who is a general manager in Tata Trusts' former chairman Ratan Tata’s office, launched Goodfellows in September 2022. His ‘guru’ and Tata Group’s emeritus chairman Ratan Tata invested in the start-up in August 2022.
The company hires young people with emotional intelligence and empathy to interact with senior citizens who need companionship. Experts have argued that loneliness causes health issues and lead to a decline in mental health.
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While speaking about the decision to put money in Goodfellows, Dr Hiranandani said, “Goodfellows has understood the problem, looked for a solution and worked out a concept around it. This is what makes it wonderful and unique. It is a concept needed in today’s world.”
Highlighting the importance of an organisation like Goodfellows, Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of Tata Group said, "You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone wishing for companionship," while putting his money on the start-up.
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